Sanitary footwear.



A. HALE.

SANITARY FOOTWEAR.

APPLIGATION FILED MAY 29. 1911.

1,030,085, Patented June 18,1912.

FItlE.

ARTHUR HALE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SANITARY FOOTWEAR.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ARTHUR HALE, a citi zen of the United States,residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sanitary Footwear;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in foot wear and particularly toboots and shoes, including slippers and analogous foot wear, the uppersof which at least are formed of felt, cloth or fabric.

In certain classes of foot wear it is desirable and more sanitary toprovide means whereby the boot or shoe formed of felt or fabric may bereadily cleaned or washed, and at the same time be provided withsuitable supporting or stiifening means for retaining the shape of theboot and shoe when in use, and this is particularly true in the case ofbath slippers, yachting shoes, tennis shoes, creepers, moccasins or thelike, whether the foot wear be in the nature of a high or a low quartershoe or a slipper or sandal, the uppers of which at least are formed offabric, toweling, canvas or the like, and one of the objects of thepresent invention is to produce sanitary and washable footwear of thecharacter described.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for readilyattaching and detach ing the supporting or the stiffening means.

While the invention is not restricted to the exact details shown anddescribed, still for the purpose of disclosure, reference is had to theaccompanying drawings in which like letters designate the same parts inthe several views, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of awashable bath slipper of sandal form, the stiifen- .ing or supportingmeans bent longitudinally and being inserted within the base portion ofthe slipper proper; Fig. 2 is a view in rear elevation of the slipperready for use; Fig. 3 is a plan view of said stifiening means; Fig. 4:is a view in side elevation, the forward upper being broken away, of aslightly modified form for securing the inner and outer sole together,the stiffening means comprising an inserted member, the inner and outersoles being distended for receiving the stiffening member; and Fig. 5 isa Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 29, 1911.

Patented June 18, 1912. Serial No. 630,248.

similar view to Fig. a, with the rear end of the slipper closed.

I11 Figs. 1 to 5 I have illustrated a bath slipper of sandal formconstructed of any suitable washable material, such as cloth,

toweling, canvas, or the like, consisting of an inner sole 1 and anouter sole 2, stitched or secured together in any suitable waysubstantially the full length thereof, but with the rear ends separatedas at 3, forming a pocket 4: between the inner and outer sole; and atthe forward end of the sandal, I provide an upper 5 secured to the baseportion along its edges in any suitable way, forming the usual pocketfor the reception of the fore part of the foot. I

The construction of the slipper is of substantially the usual foot formshape, having a restricted neck intermediate of the ball portion of theslipper and the heel, and in inserting the stiffening means, the same isslightly bent longitudinally, as shown at 6 in Fig. 1, which will enablethe same to be inserted in the pocket 4: until the restricted portion ofthe stiffening means alines with the restricted portion of the slipper,whereupon the stiffening means will hold the base portion of the slipperdistended in proper shape.

In Figs. 4 and 5, the construction is substantially the same, with theexception that the lower rear portion of the inner sole 1 is providedwith a flap or pocket 7, so that when the stiffening means is insertedin position, the outer sole 2 is pressed up against the underneath faceof the stiffening menu her and the pocket 7 is sprung over and incasesthe rear portion 6 of the stiffening member and the rear portion 2 ofthe outer sole, as shown in Fig. 5.

Having thus described practically a preferred embodiment of myinvention, the particular features of novelty will now be pointed outmore succinctly in the following claims.

What I claim is 1. A shoe or slipper of the character describedcomprising an upper and a base portion, said base portion consisting ofan inner and an outer sole connected together along their edges to forma pocket, and being dis connected at the heel portion to provide anopening for said pocket; and a removable and substantially rigidstifiening member adapted to be fitted within said pocket, substantiallyas described.

2. A shoe or slipper constructed of washable material, and comprising anupper and a base portion consisting of an inner and an outer soleconnected together along their edges substantially their whole lengthproviding a rearwardly opening pocket between the inner and outer soles,a forwardly opening pocket being arranged on the rear face of one ofsaid soles, in combination with a removable stiffening membersubstantially of the contour of said soles, adapted to be inserted inthe pocket between said inner and outer soles, said forwardly openingpocket being adapted to incase the rear end of said stiffening memberand the rear end of one of said soles, substantially as described.

3. A shoe or slipper of the character described comprising inner andouter soles of less width at their instep than at their ball portions;said soles being connected together along their edges to form a pockethaving a narrow portion corresponding to the narrow portions of saidsoles; and the said soles being disconnected at the heel portion toprovide an opening for said pocket, substantially as described.

4:. A shoe or slipper of the character de scribed comprising inner andouter soles of less width at their instep than at their ball portions;said soles being connected together along their edges to form a pockethaving a narrow portion corresponding to the narrow portions of saidsoles; the said soles being disconnected at the heel portion to providean opening for said pocket; and a readily removable stifiening memberadapted to fit the wide and narrow portions of said pocket,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

ARTHUR HALE. V

Witnesses R. M. lEARKER, ERNEST WILLIAMSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0.

